Worst intern ever. And not a terribly great person, either.

So it's late December and someone who can't read your mind wishes you a Merry Christmas. How odd. You should go running to Human Resources to complain like the pitiful loser you are. And someone did: Whitney Cummings was reported to HR by an intern on her show for saying, "Merry Christmas".

Boo fucking hoo. I hope I never have to work with someone that petty, self-centered, weak, and unprofessional.

Also, you're an intern and she's the boss. So shut the fuck up and buckle up, buckaroo, because it's a tough world out there and it doesn't revolve around you. When you have a show of your own you can make the rules, including barring your wretchedly unhappy employees who would rather be working for anyone else from saying the dreaded MC words. Until then, shut your piehole. And if you're too stupid to figure that out, well, you were hired for exactly the reason Cummings explains here:

You just know this person was angling for a big payday from their deep-pocketed network. I can just imagine that conversation. "My boss wished me a Merry Christmas and now I'm too traumatized to work. But for the right price I think I can find a way to cope and feel better enough not to get a lawyer or make a big deal about it on social media."

I hope Cummings incorporates this into her next stand-up routine, because it's just that hilariously pathetic and laughable. Also, I'd love to know if that intern showed up for work on Christmas or accepted any gifts or bonuses, because, it's just another day, right?

It must be miserable going through life so miserable that that's what you complain to HR about. Seriously, this loser isn't going to make it in the real world if someone saying, "Merry Christmas" at Christmastime gets their panties in a wad.

Jackass.

From The Department of It's Funny Cuz It's True: CVS wrapping paper

I'm almost tempted to try this next year. It's not like I ever use the coupons, they expire so soon.

H/T to im not right in the head.com on FB.

Best. Santa. EVER!!!

Via Tropical Life, Food and Fun on FB (from last year).

Heck yeah I ordered this wine

In fact, I ordered two bottles.

I've been waiting years for TCM Wine Club to do a Bette Davis label, and I finally got it.

You don't have to be a member of the Wine Club to order. Follow this link if you're not a member and just want the Bette Davis Malbec.

I'm so glad they used this picture of her. I don't think she ever looked better than as Margo Channing.

Oh my God, this just came across my Instagram feed: Pet portraits on steroids

Iconic Paw will turn your pet's portrait into an old-timey masterpiece.

Needless to say, I'm sold. The only question is which outfit and which picture of Sophie. Although I'm leaning toward this one:

Doofus.

Just a thought

Or maybe he'd still be a jerk. Who knows?

Via Trish Martin from the Fame is a Bitch Obsessed FB page (from last year).

Castle Green tour

Last weekend The Brother and I got to tour Pasadena's historic Castle Green. Twice a year (in June and December) residents open their vintage apartments to the public. I'll definitely be going again in June. The place is beautiful and it was amazing seeing the classic apartments, especially how marvelously they utilized the small spaces in the singles (400-500 square feet). It was also clear the place attracts very creative people.

From the program:

There was a gentleman from the East Coast named Colonel George Green, a patent medicine manufacturer, who created the "August Flower", an elixir that cured all ills, including "a heavy load at the pit of the stomach", who regularly vacationed in Pasadena in the winter to escape the cold.

In 1891 he invested in a hotel located where Stats now stands, and over the next few years he enlarged and improved on the original, adding a wing across the street, the Green Hotel, now the Castle Green, which was completed in 1898 and became the social center for the East Coast gentry who arrived from the train station down the street in horse-drawn carriages, children and nannies in tow, to spend the winter months enjoying the wonderful California weather and the attractions of Pasadena.

Decades later the building fell on hard times and was even condemned at one point, until a group of admirers saved it by converting the hotel into condominiums. It is now comprised of fifty-two unique private residences. It is also listed as a Nationally Registered Historic Monument, a State Historical Monument, and a Designated Pasadena Treasure.

Designed with Moorish, Spanish, and Victorian themes, the building is gorgeous and provides a look at a long-vanished way of life. It has a manually operated caged elevator and life at Castle Green includes having full-time elevator operators. According to the program, it is the only manually operated elevator running on the West Coast.

Although we were told pictures were fine, I didn't take many of the actual apartments because it felt kind of invasive, even though the owners willingly opened their homes to us.

There are two rooms off the lobby, the Moorish and Turkish Rooms:

Per the program: The carpeting throughout is an exact replica of the original design of 1897 and has been manufactured by the same company, Axminster of London. This was researched through the use of computer generation, using early photos of Rudolph Valentino and Dorothy Gish standing in a hallway. Luckily, Axminster was able, through these photos, to find the original pattens for us. Here's a small sample:

Original tile.

The beautiful caged elevator. Unfortunately they take it out of commission for the tour.

A lot of the units have vintage appliances, which I am a total sucker for:

This apartment featured something I had never seen or heard of - a Clavicytherium. Basically, it's an upright harpsichord:

Merry Christmas from Castle Green!

Christmas post: The Far Side

Always loved The Far Side.

Christmas post: Mr. Bean and the Nativity Scene

This is one of my all-time favorite Mr. Bean bits, where he brings the Nativity to life:

SSSSSHHHHHHH!!!!

You guys, Costco has the coolest booze-related stuff for the holidays!

Seriously, check this out:

If you're having trouble finding a gift for someone who has a thing for dragons and brandy, Costco has you covered!

I had no idea there were even this many varieties of Bailey's:

I actually bought this because I needed tequila for a margarita mix variety pack I bought a few weeks ago:

Thirty bucks. It was the cheapest tequila in the store.

Here are the mixers. The blood orange sold it.

Costco has tons of food and drink-related gifts. You'll want to get over there soon, because the closer it gets to Christmas the crazier that place is going to get.

Recent reading: "Lost Hills"

Lost Hills by Lee Goldberg

In between his Ian Ludlow series, Goldberg managed to crank out the first book of a new series featuring young L.A. County Sheriff's Deputy Eve Ronin.

Ronin was promoted to homicide detective after a video of her wrestling a famous actor to the ground because he was assaulting a woman went viral. Her newfound and unwanted fame also helped take the media's focus off police brutality issues plaguing the department. But although happy with her promotion, she finds herself in the unenviable position of being resented by other older, more experienced detectives who consider her advancement unearned and undeserved.

Ronin gets a chance to prove herself when she and her partner are called to the scene of a heinous triple homicide involving an abused single mom and her two children. Goldberg keeps the action moving and threw in a nice twist at the end that I never saw coming. And in a weird twist a massive brushfire factors into the book's climax, and in the author's afterword Goldberg notes that shortly after receiving the copyedited manuscript of Lost Hills from his editor, he and his family had to evacuate their Calabasas home due to the disastrous Woolsey Fire. Luckily, his house survived.

Highly recommended and I'm looking forward to the next Eve Ronin book.

Garvey wasn't intimidated. "What did you expect? A standing ovation from the guys who actually earned their promotions?"

"No, Tubbs, this is exactly what I expected." Eve stepped away from him and shifted her gaze between the three men. "Because it's the same sexist attitude that would have shut me out of Robbery-Homicide for another ten years . . . and that I still would have faced if I ever got in. So I used the leverage that video gave me to get myself here overnight. Did I leapfrog over people who've been struggling to get into Robbery-Homicide for years and haven't made it? Yes, I did. Do I care? Nope. Do I deserve to be here? It doesn't matter because here I am, boys. You don't like it? Too bad. Suck it up or get out. I'm sure the sheriff will give me two other detectives to replace you. They might even stay."

The Huntington Library is about to get a whole lot funnier

Now here's something I didn't expect to see in an email from The Huntington:

That's right - from the interview:

I was so impressed by the air-conditioned efficiency of the sliding shelves and the variety of writers it contained that I wondered aloud of the library would like to have my stuff. Amazingly, they would, and so was born what they will one day call The Eric Idle Archive, which is really far too posh a name for a bunch of old junk in a lock-up in Studio City.

The eventual collection will include Python and Spamalot scripts, personal letters, notes, recordings, and photos. And I will be all over that.

I was just at The Huntington gift shop (aka Heaven) yesterday. In the future, I'll keep my eyes peeled for Idle. I never thought of The Huntington as a celebrity spotting place (and I don't usually care about celebrities anyway) but as a longtime Python fan, it would be a kick to see him there.